ASHTON WATERFOWL

Breeds of Domestic Geese: Toulouse Geese

Photos and Extracts from three articles on the Toulouse Goose by
Chris Ashton published in Country Smallholding 2002

The 13th Earl of Derby (1775–1851) seems to have played a key part
in the introduction and maintenance of exotic domestic breeds into
Britain. He was President of the Zoological Society of London from
1831 until his death, and he also maintained his own menagerie at
Knowsley Park near Liverpool. Writing in 1850, Nolan observed that
some fine specimens of the breed of Toulouse ‘have been recently
introduced by the Earl of Derby, and is indiscriminately known as
the Mediterranean, Pyrenean , or Toulouse goose, and from size and
quality of flesh found a most valuable addition to our stock. With
the exception of their great size, they resemble our common domestic
geese, but of a much more mild and easy disposition; and what is
more important to the farmer, they never pull the haystacks in a
haggard. Their prevailing colour is blue-grey, marked with brown
bars; the head, neck . . . and then back of the neck, as far as the
shoulders, of a dark brown; the breast is slaty blue; the belly is
white, as also the under-surface of the tail; the bill is orange-red
and the feet flesh-coloured, The London Zoological Society have
pronounced them to be unmixed descendants of the grey-lag’.

In his 1901 edition, Lewis Wright recorded Miss Campain’s account of
her Toulouse geese. ‘I started by buying a pair of his celebrated
geese from Mr Fowler of Aylesbury who had then quite as good birds
as anyone, if not the best at that time. The gander, I think was
without exception the longest bird in every way I have seen, and the
goose was remarkably good in colour, very wide and deep, and not
showing the least tinge of brown in plumage, but of a beautiful
silver grey . . . This variety should be massive and heavy in
appearance . . . the head should be broad and deep in the face, the
beak being in a straight line from the top of the head to the tip,
very strong and without any indenture or hollow in the top bill. . .
The bill should be of a brown flesh-colour, the dew-lap should hang
well down . . . The neck should be long and graceful . . . Both for
the show pen and for breeding, the birds should be exceptionally
well bowed in front, and ‘keeled’ deeply . . . with their bodies
almost touching the ground behind . . . In colour they should be
rather dark grey on the head, neck, back and wings; rather lighter
on the breast, gradually becoming lighter towards the belly, where
it ends in pure good white.’

Looking after Toulouse
Toulouse are very similar in their requirements to other breeds of
geese, but the larger exhibition birds in particular do need more
care. Despite this, people starting with domestic geese often seem
to opt for Toulouse, perhaps because the name is well known, perhaps
also because of their temperament.

Care of Plumage
Toulouse plumage is fuller and softer than the average farmyard
goose, especially in the larger, exhibition birds. In continuously
wet weather, older Toulouse need shelter at night, and cannot be
left out in a fox-proof pen 24 hours a day. Rainfall was so high
last year (2000-2001) that some six-year old birds appeared to
suffer from ‘wet feather’. This is a condition where the feathers
never seem to dry out. There are various causes of this condition.
The cause of ‘wet feather’ in the Toulouse last year was simply that
the soft plumage does not cope with continuous rain, and the only
solution was to house the older birds on bad days. Paradoxically,
the main way to avoid this condition is to ensure that birds have
access to bathing water throughout the year, and so can keep
themselves clean. In this way they keep their feathers in good
condition by washing, preening and spreading their own preen-gland oil over
their plumage. Hopefully this summer’s moult has allowed the birds
to replace their plumage with good, new feathers ready for this
winter.

DietToulouse are not hardy grazers. Smaller geese such as the
Pilgrim and Brecon Buff subsist well on correctly managed pasture,
but larger Toulouse also need concentrated feed. Larger domestic
animals, and birds, usually have a higher food demand than their
smaller, hardier, cousins. Large domestics are so because of
selection by humans for rapid food conversion and weight gain. These
birds generally need to be fed a more concentrated diet when they
are adult as well. To reach their full potential, Toulouse must be
fed pellets (for waterfowl) in addition to their grazing. They are
much keener to eat pellets than any other breed of geese, at all
stages of growth, and as adults. Do not, however, let the birds
become over-fat or over-weight. This will certainly shorten their
life-span.
If insufficient concentrated food is available, the birds will
become under-weight, and also do their best to gain nutrition from
grass. Whilst geese are ideally grazers, it is important that the
grass is short and tender. If it is too long and stringy, the bird
can suffer from impacted gizzard. With Toulouse in particular, make
sure that they have the correct food, are wormed regularly, and that
they have access to sand and grit.